Astrophysics - Science Mission Directorate

Astrophysics Missions

The exploration into the origins of our solar system ... of our very existence, requires the development of complex space missions.

Report of the 2008 Senior Review of the Astrophysics Division Operating Missions

*Sort missions by clicking Launch Date, A-Z, or PHASE column headers.

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
19930220 February 20, 1993	ASCA ASCA was the first X-ray astronomy mission to combine imaging capability with a broad pass band, good spectral resolution, and a large effective area. The mission was also...	Past
19901202 December 02, 1990	Astro Observatory (ASTRO 1 & 2) The "Astro Observatory" was developed as a system of telescopes that could fly multiple times on the space shuttle....	Past
19901202 December 02, 1990	BBXRT The Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) was the first focusing X-ray telescope to operate over a broad energy range (0.3-12 keV) with moderate energy resolution. BBXRT was...	Past
19910405 April 05, 1991	CGRO Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission studied very energetic celestial phenomena: solar flares, cosmic gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, nova and supernova explosions, accreting...	Past
19990724 July 23, 1999	Chandra Chandra explores the hot turbulent regions in space with images 25 times sharper than previous x-ray pictures. Chandra is performing detailed studies of black holes,...	Operating
20030112 January 12, 2003	CHIPS CHIPS uses an extreme ultraviolet spectrograph to study the "Local Bubble," a tenuous cloud of hot gas surrounding our Solar System that extends about 300 light-years from...	Past
19891118 November 18, 1989	COBE The COBE satellite was developed to measure the diffuse infrared and microwave radiation from the early universe, to the limits set by our astrophysical...	Past
	Constellation-X Constellation-X has been designed to perform X-ray spectroscopy with unprecedented sensitivity and spectral resolution, to determine the flow of gas in accretion disks around...	Under Study
19930113 January 13, 1993	DXS The primary objective of the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS) payload was to obtain measurements on the diffuse soft X-ray background radiation in the Milky Way Galaxy. DXS...	Past
19920607 June 07, 1992	EUVE The Extreme-Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) was a part of NASA's Explorer spacecraft series, and designed to operate in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range of the spectrum, from...	Past
20080611 20:00:00 USEastern June 11, 2008	Fermi Fermi, NASA's new gamma-ray observatory, will open a wide window on the universe. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and the gamma-ray sky is spectacularly...	Operating
19990625 June 24, 1999	FUSE Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) studies the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum from high orbit. This range provides an opportunity to...	Past
20030429 April 28, 2003	GALEX Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)  is exploring the origin and evolution of galaxies and the origins of stars and heavy elements, and is also conducting an all-sky...	Operating
20040420 April 20, 2004	Gravity Probe B (GPB) The GP-B satellite was designed as a pristine, space-borne laboratory, whose primary task was to use four ultra-precise gyroscopes to measure directly two effects predicted...	Past
19970212 February 12, 1997	HALCA HALCA is a spacecraft with a radio telescope in orbit to co-observe astronomical objects with radio telescopes on Earth. The project synthesizes a radio telescope as large as...	Past
20081101 October 31, 2008	Herschel The Herschel Space Observatory is a space-based telescope that will study the Universe by the light of the far-infrared and submillimeter portions of the spectrum. It is...	Development
20001009 20:00:00 GMT-4 October 09, 2000	HETE-2 The High Energy Transient Explorer is a small scientific satellite designed to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts. ...	Past
19890808 August 08, 1989	Hipparcos Hipparcos was a European Space Agency mission dedicated to the precise measurement of the positions, parallaxes and proper motions of the stars....	Past
19900425 April 24, 1990	Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an ultraviolet, visible and infrared orbiting telescope, has expanded our understanding of star birth, star death, and galaxy evolution, and has...	Operating
19981029 October 29, 1998	IEH-3 Seven experiments made up the IEH-3 payload on the STS-95 Space Shuttle mission. The seven hitchhiker experiments were attached to a carrier system in the bay of the Shuttle...	Past
20021018 October 17, 2002	INTEGRAL International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) seeks to unravel the secrets of the highest-energy - and therefore the most violent - phenomena in the Universe....	Operating
19951117 November 17, 1995	ISO The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), a project of the European Space Agency (ESA), provided astronomers with a unique facility of unprecedented sensitivity for a detailed...	Past
19780126 January 26, 1978	IUE The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite launched in 1978 and was a unique space observatory in that it was operated like a ground-based observatory....	Past
	JDEM NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy will support a probe to investigate dark energy, the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM). The Joint Dark Energy Mission will be an...	Under Study
20130701 June 30, 2013	JWST James Webb Space Telescope (formerly the Next Generation Space Telescope) is designed for observations in the far visible to the mid infrared part of the spectrum. JWST will...	Development
19750521 May 21, 1975	KAO The Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) is a national facility operated by NASA to support research in infrared astronomy. The observation platform is a highly modified C-141A...	Past
20010101 2001	Keck Interferometer The Keck Interferometer is part of NASA's overall effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It combines the light from the twin Keck telescopes to ...	Operating
20090217 February 16, 2009	Kepler The Kepler Mission is a space mission specifically designed to detect Earth-size planets around stars in the solar neighborhood of the Galaxy. This mission is part of the...	Development
20051012 October 12, 2005	LBTI The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) is part of NASA's overall effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It will combine the light...	Development
19981117 November 17, 1998	Leonid MAC Leonid MAC used two aircraft carrying a variety of instruments to examine the particles from the comet Tempel -Tuttle as well as the impact of these on the upper...	Past
	LISA The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a space-based observatory that will allow us to view the Universe in a new spectrum, that of gravitational radiation. This...	Under Study
20110101 2011	NuSTAR The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array is a pathfinder mission that will open the high energy X-ray sky for sensitive study for the first time. This mission is part of...	Under Study
	OAO The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) was a series of four satellites launched by NASA between 1966 and 1972....	Past
19961120 November 20, 1996	ORFEUS-SPAS II ORFEUS-SPAS II mission conducted investigations of celestial sources in the far and extreme ultraviolet spectral range, and to increase understanding of the evolution of...	Past
20081101 October 31, 2008	Planck Planck is designed to image minor variations in the Cosmic Background Radiation over the whole sky, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. Planck will provide...	Development
19900601 June 01, 1990	ROSAT The ROentgen SATellite, was an X-ray observatory developed through a cooperative program between the Germany, the United States, and the United...	Past
19951231 December 30, 1995	RXTE Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer studies variability over time in the emission of X-ray sources, with moderate spectral resolution. This time behavior is a source of important...	Operating
19961104 November 04, 1996	SAC-B Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-B was designed to advance the study of solar physics and astrophysics through the examination of solar flares, gamma ray bursts, diffuse...	Past
	SIM SIM PlanetQuest (formerly called Space Interferometry Mission), will determine the positions of stars and planets several hundred times more accurately than any previous...	Under Study
20090602 June 01, 2009	SOFIA SOFIA is an airborne observatory that will study the universe in the infrared spectrum. This mission is part of SMD's Cosmic Origins...	Development
20030826 August 25, 2003	Spitzer Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly known as SIRTF) conducts infrared astronomy from space. From an unusual heliocentric orbit designed to keep its sensitive instruments away...	Operating
20091202 December 01, 2009	ST7 Space Technology 7 project will flight test a Disturbance Reduction System (DRS) that will aid scientists in their quest to detect and measure gravitational waves in...	Development
20050710 July 10, 2005	Suzaku (Astro-E2) Suzaku (formerly Astro-E2) provides powerful tools to use the Universe as a laboratory for unraveling complex, high-energy processes and the behavior of matter under extreme...	Operating
19981206 December 06, 1998	SWAS The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) instrument is a submillimeter wave telescope that incorporates dual heterodyne radiometers and an acousto-optical...	Past
20041121 November 20, 2004	Swift Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer is a three-telescope space observatory for studying the position, brightness, and physical properties of gamma ray bursts. Although gamma ray...	Operating
	TPF Terrestrial Planet Finder observatories will study the particular characteristics of many planets outside our solar system: from their formation and development in disks of...	Under Study
19990304 March 04, 1999	WIRE The Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) is a Small Explorer Mission designed to study the evolution of starburst galaxies and search for distant ultra-luminous...	Past
20091103 November 02, 2009	WISE WISE is a NASA-funded scientific research project that will provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Among the objects...	Development
20010701 June 30, 2001	WMAP Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)  produced the earliest “baby picture” of the universe, showing the minute temperature variations within the microwave light...	Operating
19991211 December 10, 1999	XMM-Newton XMM-Newton is an X-ray astrophysics observatory that enables astronomers to conduct sensitive X-ray spectroscopic observations of a wide variety of cosmic sources. This...	Operating

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